Deal with the Devil
by Dungeon Inspector
Summary: Kurapika was determined to regain the stolen eyes of his people, come hell or high water. To his misfortune, the Black Whale had plenty of both. It's a continuation fic for the current hiatus. Spoilers: Chapter 360. No Pairings. Warnings: Character Deaths.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Come hell or high water, Kurapika was determined to regain the stolen eyes of his people. To his misfortune, the Black Whale had plenty of both. A continuation fic for the current hiatus. Spoilers: chapter 360. No pairings. **Warnings: Character Deaths.**

Betas: I just want to say thanks to both **TheAlmightyOneofLegends** and **randylahey5446** for helping to make sure this chapter was as clean as possible.

The hiatus is getting to me. So here's my attempt at the Kakin Succession/Dark Continent Arcs. For now, it's a continuation fic with hope one day Togashi will make a new chapter and this story will become a divergence.

Chapter 1

* * *

Touted by Hui Guo Rou, the king of Kakin, as the next great step for humanity, the Black Whale set sail for the uncharted land of the Dark Continent. Inside a private room of the ship, Kurapika stood before three dead bodies.

Two had been double agents for the superior queens chosen to ensure Woble never posed a threat to their children. Gaping holes in their undershirts exposed the sliced flesh of their stab wounds. Heads limp, their mouths still hung open from their last breath. Bound into their chairs, flecks of robes had rubbed off onto their suits from their attempt to struggle. Laying on the floor in a pool of blood was the other corpse, a temp hunter sent by Pariston.

From his calves to his shoulders their killer, Sarid, was ensnared by chains. Occasionally his body would jerk, flopping up from the floor like a fish out of the water, as he brokenly muttered over and over. "I was free. It asked me too."

Pressing the infant prince Woble to her chest, Oito asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Sarid had been too weak.

The royal election was a ruthless affair. Fourteen heirs, all given the title of prince, from eight legal wives, underwent the succession ceremony. During the ceremony, they unknowingly received a nen ability. Unlike those who unlocked their Nen through training or talent, these "gifted" Hatsu were parasitic in nature. Utilizing the host's aura, they act without the host's awareness or control. With the awakening of Woble and the other prince's auras, the death match had begun. Only one survivor would be left: the prince who would be king. Familial blood spilled for the sake of power and greed.

Disgusting.

Kurapika expected more from those who were supposed to be leaders. But at the same time, he was not surprised that the family that produced the 4th prince, Tserriednich, had such a poor understanding of the importance of kin. Tserriednich owned the last of the scarlet eyes. The final remains of his mother, his father, and his best friend- Pairo...

Chains clinked and scrapped across the marble floor as Kurapika tightened his hold. "One of the Nen parasites must be capable of manipulating humans. We need to search him for signs of how the connection is being maintained."

Nodding over at only other surviving bodyguard, voice as hard as the metal of his chains Kurapika said, "Go check him."

With a light shove from the bodyguard's shaking foot, Sarid was rolled onto his side with a _rattle_. The bodyguard kept sending quick glances between Sarid and Kurapika as if he wasn't sure which he was more afraid of.

With complete control, Kurapika said, "Calm down. Young Prince Woble's ability is most likely a self-defense mechanism. If you become alarmed and uneasy, we could be attacked again."

The man flinched.

Kurapika's "motivational" speech had only made things worse. To be fair it had been less than an hour since Kurapika jammed his .22 caliber in the man's face. Nothing quite said "talk" like a loaded gun.

Along with one of the dead men and Sarid, the man was another of Pariston's moles. In theory putting him directly opposed to Kurapika as a Zodiac. Realistically as long as their goal did not conflict with the protection of Prince Woble or his assassination of Tserriednich, Kurapika would allow them to live. Reclaiming the eyes of his people took precedence over all else. He was a Kuruta first and a Zodiac second.

The stakes were too high to allow possible misinformation. Failure of the Zodiac expedition could mean the Hunter Association's loss of the confidence of the V5, the five most economically countries in the world, and the large support of various companies. On a larger scale, the last five attempts to claim the Dark Continent had brought the great calamities Ai, Brion, Hellbell, Papu, and Zobae Disease upon the world. A failed expedition had a high price for humanity.

In the best case scenario, the connection could be severed and Kurapika would have two sources of information on Pariston's plans. While he'd already learned from the other surviving spy that their goal was to join Beyond's expedition upon arrival at the Dark Continent, cross references never hurt.

Whether it was the succession war or the contest to claim the Dark Continent, information was key. His only information was the location of his own moles: Izunavi- the man who taught him Nen, Melody- his favorite subordinate; Basho- his most noisy subordinate; Hanzo- a ninja he'd passed the Hunter Exam with; and Bisky- a woman recommended by Killua. Undercover within the other prince's entourages, they would be unavailable to provide him any backup.

The bleak fact was that all the rival prince's retinues were superior in strength to Woble's. Strength, however, could be overcome by any number of factors if an opponent had the proper mix of ingenuity and intelligence.

 _Crunch._

The other bodyguard tripped over his own feet as he scurried away from Sarid.

A moist _pop_ came from within the nest of chains; it was the sound of tearing flesh. Bones snapped as Sarid's spine bent backward and a lump wriggled up his throat. Mouth open as he screamed in pain a tiny bear with three eyes popped its head out of his mouth to say, "Lemme know when you're free? M'kay?"

Kurapika allowed his chains around the dead man to dissipate. Conjuring new ones he struck at the beast. A costly method as the aura from his previous weapon went to waste, but time efficient.

The bear-like creature giggled as it was ensnared.

With a twist of his wrist, the beast was dead. _Popped_ like a blood-filled balloon.

All was quiet, save for the harsh panting of the other bodyguard.

Then there was a sound.

It was the sound of _something_ slimy. Something that slowly slithered its way to another thing, slightly sticking to the surface it crawled on, popping small bubbles of air underneath it and making suction noises.

"H-Help," cried the bodyguard as he looked to Kurapika. With a light trill like a cooing bird, a small black creature with one eye and suckers for feet crept into his ear.

Behind black lenses, red eyes stood in judgment. Risk factors required elimination. Kurapika bit his lip, disgusted at himself and at the taste of blood. His people had to come first; there would be no help.

He delivered the man's sentence.

Kurapika's stomach turned with each _drip-drip-drop_ of blood off his chains. Repulsive _._ The blood lent a rusty smell to the air as if he were ensnared within his chains being dragged to hell with his victims. He could still see the empty canyon near the outskirts of Yorknew City, the red moon, and Uvo falling. Killing got easier, he'd discovered, but dealing with the aftermath never did.

The fourteen man battle royal had just begun and Woble was down to a single guard.

Kneeling down, blood smeared on his hands as he grabbed the man's gun off his corpse. Skin still warm brushed against his fingertips. It was sticky. Sickening.

With a deep exhale he stilled his hands shaking. "Take this. Aim for the center of the chest and keep shooting until they stop moving."

As Kurapika handed the gun to Oito he couldn't help, but grimace. He'd begun to believe over the past two years in the mafia that he'd seen everything, but deep down he knew the image in front of him was going to haunt him. The baby Woble lay cradled against one of her mother's hands and the gun rested in the other.

His arms were heavy as if remembering the slight weight from when she'd allowed him to hold Woble.

Using them like pawns in a chess game would be so simple. It was so easy to lie, to avoid the questions and truth he never wanted to answer too, but lying was the easy greedy solution, a shameful act.

Working for Oito had gained him access to the 1st and 2nd tier of the ship, "the hunting grounds", where the princes stayed. Tserriednich was within his grasp and it could cost him as little as walking away from her to go down the hall. She and Woble, however, would be assassinated.

He was selfish, but he wasn't _that_ selfish.

Sacrificing them would not bring justice to his clan; he'd given his word. _"If you will accept my conditions, I promise I will protect the two of you with every last ounce of my strength."_ An honorable man kept his vows.

Mouth pressed tightly into a thin line, Oito gave a slow nod. The ease of her hand around the gun left likely a remnant for her impoverished youth. By her own admission, she'd lived a gluttonous life until learning of her daughter's fate. But even surrounded by riches, life had been far from easy. It took dirty hands to become a queen, even dirtier to stay, and it seemed that the way she'd got in was the same way she was going to get Woble out.

While the eight queens had no public ranking, there was a strict hierarchy with Oito holding the lowest rung as the newest wife. A constant vigil to maintain their power was held by the superior wives. Each time the king took a new wife, the number of bodyguards allowed to his heirs increased by one. They then each choose one of the new bodyguards for the new queen's entourage to serve as their mole, leaving themselves one loyal guard richer and the newbie surrounded by double agents.

The thirteen other princes each had approximately fourteen agents, one for each queen plus an additional seven for the voyage, minus any casualties. They would almost assuredly be holding up in the safety of their rooms.

But Oito and Woble needed to find a more defensible area. The large room was too much space for Kurapika to cover alone and would allow a greater number of hostile creatures to engage him at once. Now or never, there would be no surviving the case of a coordinated attack.

Carrying 200,000 passengers, escaping to the Black Whale's 3rd deck for refuge was their best option. Within the masses, they would be untraceable. There was a significant risk that given the uncontrolled nature of the Nen beasts that they could still be located, but it was better than being sitting ducks in Woble's assigned room. It was too early to take advantage of the chaos on the lower decks hitting its peak, but he decided to enact his plan to sneak them down below.

The Black Whale had 5 decks. Their current location was on the 1st deck the housed the royal family and the V5's political VIPs. The 2nd deck held various celebrities and prominent figures, as well as the wealthy and upper-class. The 3rd deck and below were for the general public and regular passengers.

However, moving would not be simple. The 2nd and 3rd deck were completely cut off from each other by massive, thick walls. During emergencies, the walls can be opened or shut, but only from the 2nd deck. Furthermore, Kakin soldiers officially serving as guards until arrival at the Dark Continent patrolled the pathways around the residential quarters. The connection zones between the ship's 1st-3rd decks as well as the full length of the 1st and 2nd deck were under Marshall Law. Guard stations were placed at each connection point. In addition to the troops. One hundred and fifty temporary hunters, hunters that had been granted limited versions of a pro-license for the duration of the expedition, worked in cooperation with the troops.

The troops were a low-level threat as they both followed a predictable pattern and had no known nen users. The hunters were a potential problem. Due to the lax conditions placed by the Dark Continent Committee, they knew nothing of these people's motives and some knew Nen. They'd wanted to bring in as many allies as they could find, but they may well have let the foxbear into the hen house.

Extra caution would need to be exercised around anyone prowling the pathways. Mizaistom had requested backup on the 3rd and 4th decks as the crime rate had skyrocketed among the passengers. Any hunters left were either connected to a rival prince or had some other ulterior motive for staying behind.

He took a deep breath and reached for the door's handle, trying to push away thoughts of who might be on the other side. Focused on cleaning up after the succession war, the troops passed without a sparing them a single glance. Wheels, badly in need of oil, spun past with a sharp _creak_ as troops breezed by them pushing covered stretchers. A pale hand with a shiny gold wedding band had slipped out of the cover to droop lifelessly as the stretcher was taken away.

Heart hammering against his ribcage, Kurapika darted out of the room. Leading his charges down one of his planned escape routes he headed towards the connection gate for the 2nd deck that was the farthest from the residential quarters. It was risky to take such a long path, but the entrance itself would be less heavily guarded. Time slowed to a horrible crawl during the long seconds they spent hidden behind corners, but it was all too fast each time they scurried to reach the next one. Soon they were within a few turns of the exit.

Peeking around a corner he viewed the next hallway.

A lone man in a wrinkled hoodie leaned against a wall his face buried in an open book. _Tap-tap-tap_ his finger drummed against the outside cover.

"Wait here. I'll come back once I've cleared the way."

Wide frightened eyes looked to him for guidance. Closing her mouth, Queen Oito swallowed a plea for him to stay close. Scarcely daring to breathe she hide huddled with Wobble behind a column.

Odds were in favor of the man being a threat, but there was a chance he was an ally of the Hunter Association. If the lady luck smiled at him, he could use his new authority as a Zodiac to get them passed. Unfortunately, if running a bodyguard and gambling syndicate had taught him anything it was that lady luck was absolutely fridged.

Using Gyo Kurapika searched the man and the surrounding area. Nothing seemed out of place, but dread curled in Kurapika's stomach.

Stepping out into the hallway he placed his bet and said, "Stand down, I'm here to ensure everyone has gone to provide backup to the 3rd deck. People are on the verge of rioting down there."

"Oh, This must be my lucky day." The man turned to face him directly.

As the hood shifted, Kurapika saw his face. It was the one that haunted his nightmares. Chrollo Lucilfer.

"Do you have some sort of inhuman need to torment me?" Kurapika's voice was tight as he hissed through clenched teeth.

This was the man that had massacred his clan on a whim. The Kuruta clan had been "gifted" with eyes that turned an enchanting shade of red under the effects of strong emotions. For those eyes, he left 128 dead. Family members had been forced to sit facing each other, stabbed repeatedly before their beheading. Children were tortured to death in front of their parents. Those with the scarlet eyes went last, having their eyes gouged out.

They were beautiful and rare so Chrollo took them. When they lost their novelty, he sold them.

A crisp _crinkle_ cut through the air as Chrollo turned a page. He replied, "This is nothing personal. Royalty tends to keep treasure, I want access to them, and people with that access walk through this area."

 _'_ Nothing personal _,'_ echoed in Kurapika's head.

Hellfire burned in his eyes even as he tried to remain in control. He curled and uncurled his fists. Collecting his people's eyes, had to come first. No matter how much he wanted to punch Chrollo till his face caved in. And then kick him. _Hard_. Punting his head like it was a deflated football.

A sharp exhale, he released the poisonous rage building inside. Head hung down, he was disappointed in himself. Both for the violence he craved and allowing himself to be affected by it. "Red-eyed monster", the townsfolk had called him that when he'd left the village with Pairo. He'd never let those words become true. Lost in his memories he touched just under his eye; he was not a monster, on the inside at least.

In a soft voice he said, "If you're just here for treasure, we don't have to fight. Let me pass and I'll ignore that you were ever here."

"Do you believe in souls?"

Of course, Kurapika did. The alternative that everyone was truly gone... His entire body locked up, he wasn't going to let them go. No one was ever going to take from him again.

"...I do, Uvo loved a good fight, so I wreaked havoc and sent him friends in hell. However, I have two more souls to appease now. I have a deal to make with you. Don't take this as a challenge, but I'm 100% certain you'll see things my way."

Kurapika spat like a hissing cat. "Never."

"Do you see this book?"

"You haven't stolen my eyes, yet."

The bindings were black and the open pages yellow with age. Clearly, he needed to keep watchful of it, but what Chrollo used it for was unknown.

Chrollo's lips formed a self-satisfied smile. Tilting the book he revealed a page with the picture of an unknown man on it. "With this, I could always take your Hatsu. Those chains seem quite useful."

A powerful ability to be sure. But, as the sword in his heart could attest power wasn't free it always came at a cost.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Kurapika snorted, it was only too fitting an ability. A Hatsu was a personal expression of self. He put everything he was, every ounce of his hatred into his chains. All that book told him is that Chrollo lacked in creativity and in humanity. He robbed and use others for his own gain, making the victims of his book pay the price for his crimes.

He slipped a bookmark into his book before stowing it away inside his hoodie. "I heard from the other spiders about Pakunoda's memories. It's your abilities that are truly fascinating. Complete efficiency in every category while your eyes are red. Limitless potential. That's something even I can't steal. You could do so much, be anything, why do you limit yourself to serving others?"

Working as a mafia dog, there wasn't a day he didn't wish he hadn't chosen the path of revenge and self-ruin. But, if given the choice a thousand times he'd choose it every time. Regret came from his wish that it had never been necessary to associate himself with scum. His conscientious was clear when it came to working in the underworld. Once he'd had a family, then in the blink of an eye he was an orphan at 12-years-old, with nothing and no one in the world. Powerless. "Power with no restraint only makes monsters." It's detestable. Corrupt.

"Monsters... You're scared. I think the reason for that is quite human," said Chrollo in a low voice as if speaking to a small child. "We settle for the familiar, rather than risk the unknown."

The world that was familiar to him was gone.

Warm afternoons spent kicking up the cool water of the river. Resting in the shade of the trees they talked about all the adventures they would have together. They'd duel giants, rescue princesses from assassins, and capture bandits just like D Hunter! Pairo had always believed in him. On the days he stayed inside studying, his mother rushed around the house trailed by the sweet scent of cinnamon and cookies. She'd believed in him too, chirping at any chance she got about how her brilliant baby boy was going to change their village.

"Don't you dare speak about them." Using En he concealed the links connected to his restraining middle finger: Chain Jail. Faced with the spider his chains would not break. Nor would he.

"It's about you, isn't it? Tell me what your dreams were as a child."

Kurapika had wanted to be like D Hunter: to never back down to the challenge and live life to the fullest. He'd wanted to make his mom proud. Most of all he'd wanted to keep his promise to Pairo. 'I wish to share my happiness with all my comrades.'

"Who was it that threw those dreams down the drain?"

He'd wanted a life that when he next saw Pairo he could tell him from the bottom of his heart that it was fun. A part of him died that day. A life that had been snuffed out on the same night as 128 others.

'Also, I shall share their sorrow.' ...Because they were gone. Forever. He was alone with the monsters. Someone had to stop them, punish them, send them down to the fiery pit they deserved to burn in. 'Let our blazing scarlet eyes bear witness...'

Swimming in a sea of red he was drowning. The loss of rational thought, insanity, madness brought on by the anger flowing through his blood into his scarlet eyes.

His voice was low, almost a growl. "Be quiet. You have no right to speak to me. You've stolen my life!"

He was a bubbling cauldron of hate. His aura overflowed everywhere chilling the room as it writhed around him in long thin strips.

The red world narrowed down to Chrollo.

"Actually that's a crime I haven't committed, yet. But I appreciate the vote of confidence," said Chrollo as he pulled out his book.

Large white fish made of bone swam in the air. "These are Indoor Fish, they can only survive indoors and feed on human flesh. While a person is being eaten, they do not feel pain or bleed, and will remain alive and perfectly conscious even if mortally wounded.

"Sadist." Lashing out at Chrollo, Kurapika's chains flailed against the ceiling, the floors, and the walls unable to find the target of his rage. He only needed to herd Chrollo towards his Judgement Chain. If he could ensnare him, Chrollo would be forced into Zetsu making his fish irrelevant. Failing that, each time Chrollo pulled out or put away his book it came out of pockets within his clothing, therefore it was most likely a physical object rather than a conjuration. Destroying it may completely disable his abilities.

High pitch the whistle of wind flowing between plates of bone, a fish swooped in on Kurapika. Turning sharply he dodged, but part of his coat jacket was caught in the creature's mouth. It dissolved before his eyes. A change of tactics was in order. Normally after a hit, he could depend on his Holy Chain, however, it healed him by enhancing his natural ability to recover. He could only recover if there was still enough of him to do so.

Aiming for the fish, his chains smashed through the bone to a solid inside. Standing in a sea of broken bone he noticed the walls and remaining fish had been covered in markings some plus and some minus.

"With my left hand, I can affix the seal of the sun (plus). While with my right I can affix the seal of the moon (minus)." Making a gun gesture with his hand Chrollo placed it at his temple. "When these two symbols touch... BANG." He fired an imaginary bullet with his hand. "Once the marks are affixed, they will remain in existence until they explode even if the book is closed."

Dodging around the in a hallway had already been challenging given it's long and thin nature. Now he would need to be wary of the fish coming close enough to cause and explosion near him by either crashing into the environment or each other. As he eyed the fish, he saw Chrollo moved his bookmark again.

Kurapika raised an arm to strike. But as the fish swarmed, Kurapika was forced to retreat or risk blowing up with them as they bumped into each other.

A glowing stamp appeared in Chrollo's hand. "This is Order Stamp. When affixed to an object it creates a 'puppet' that can obey voice commands. A shame with the mess you've made it can't be used on corpses. I'd say they're inanimate, but the abilities original owner seems to disagree."

"Crash into the walls."

Ramming themselves into the walls, the fish exploded in bursts of plaster, bone fragments, and gore.

Dust from the destroyed architecture clouded the air. Coughing, Kurapika covered his mouth with his sleeve. Sweat and dust in his eyes blurred his sight. Rubble pelted him as the walls shattered. Flicking his wrist he sent his chains towards the last location he'd seen Chrollo. The links rattled. A stray tendril connected, wrapping around Chrollo's leg tearing through clothing and skin.

Fat drops of blood and flesh _splat_ against the floor like rain as Kurapika yanked Chrollo off the ground tossing him into a wall. The chains went slack as his prey escaped and curled back to him as if it were a recoiling whip.

There was a shift in the debris. A movement to the left - as a shadow fell over the dust cloud.

Hand raised, Kurapika pushed his energy into his hidden Chain Jail. Striking with it towards the disturbance, in a twisting web of metal, his chains tore through a fish with a series of sharp _cracks_.

Chrollo leaped forward from the side of Kurapika and grabbed his arm, restraining it with both hands.

Kurapika jerked out of his hold. Fumbling he failed to pull out his switchblade. His body felt heavy, he was too tall, and his hands were too big. He knew these hands, they had just been holding him. Worse he knew the face looking back at him through the red haze, it was his own.

"What have you done?"

Even as his eyes burned, his blood turned to ice.

"This is Covert Hands," said the other him as it raised its hands. On the right hand, there was a black ring within which was a black arrow pointed towards the middle finger. The other mark on the left hand was the opposite color scheme and pointed towards the wrist. "Two marks appear one on each palm. Touching someone with the black mark on my right hand causes them to take on my likeness. Likewise touching someone with the white mark on my left hand allows me to take on their likeness."

A wad of needles might as well have been in his throat as he tried to swallow. Mouth dry and throat tight his new voice cracked as Kurapika said, "And if you use both hands-"

"-the target and my own appearance will be swapped. It's just a shame the effect is only cosmetic."

He'd been so blinded by anger that he'd fall into Chrollo's trap. It was all too clear as soon as the dust settled.

The fish did not appear till Chrollo opened his book because he must have the page open to use the ability. Chrollo could use a second stolen ability, but he used different ones. Therefore it could not be that they were on the opposite page of the open book, but the bookmark that allowed their usage.

First, Chrollo opened his book to summon his Indoor Fish while having Sun and Moon bookmarked. Knowing the limits of his Healing Chain, Chrollo predicted he would target the fish first, using that time he affixed Sun and Moon to the surrounding walls and the fish further away from the carnage. Then Chrollo moved his bookmark to Order Stamp to puppet the fish. They were ordered to smash into the walls to set off Sun and Moon creating a smoke screen. Unable to spot Chrollo, he could not entrap him with his Chain Jail. With all the movement of the fish, Chrollo was camouflaged within the shifting cloud as he moved his bookmark to Covert Hands. When he turned away from him, Chrollo struck.

Fingers tightly weaved through Kurapika's now black hair scratching at his scalp. Chrollo yanked him partially off the floor. "Between sealing my Nen and Hisoka's defection, you put us down four members with minimal help. You know you have earned a spot by killing Uvo and Paku?"

"I'll die first!"

"One dead man chasing me is enough," said Chrollo as he threw Kurapika to the floor.

 _Thunk_ , his shoulder bloomed with pain as he landed. Laying on his side he shivered at the sight of his body standing to favor one side as a torn and mangled leg hung limply. "What?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. I need to ensure the spider's survival. You need the scarlet eyes. I can be anyone and go anywhere. You have abilities we need. And as you've just experienced, you can't fight me and win. I know your abilities, but even if you know mine I can always get more. Understand?"

"Go to hell!"

Chrollo sighed. "Disappointing, I took you for being smarter than this. Perhaps you just need time to cool your head." His shoes squeaked against the hard floor as he turned on his heel to leave. "You can get your body back, but first, you have to catch me. ...I'm sure I'll see you again soon."

That grin on his face... Kurapika wanted to look away, _needed_ to tear his eyes away, but he could not. He'd become the monster that he fought. Literally. He threw up. Coffee and stomach acid covered the floor. The sour smell made his eyes water. By the time he finished heaving his eyes were tightly shut, and he'd curled up into the fetal position. Opening his eyes he saw that Chrollo was gone.

The chains on his hand jingled as he touched his pounding head. His heart was beating fast, it was loud in his ears frightening him that it would lead Chrollo right back to him. That, or it would burst out of his chest. Both options sounded rather unappealing.

Staggering to his feet, he turned back to search for Oito and Woble. They couldn't be left alone if the Troupe was hanging around the area.

Too long in the legs and too high up, he careened almost drunkenly down the first hallway. By the second he improved to an awkward shuffle.

A faint perfume drifted from around the corner. Vanilla, the same scent that had filled Woble's suite.

His shoulders sagged with relief. "Queen Oito."

Entering the hallway he saw her looking down the barrel of the .22 he'd given her. Stance wide she stood like an angry mother bear between himself and an injured Chrollo with Woble in his lap. He lunged back into the previous hallway; without hesitating, she pulled the trigger. Shots fired again and again. The _click_ of the trigger being pulled continued even after the final round. He'd never been so unhappy that someone took his advice.

With his senses thrown into disarray, he could not guarantee he'd be accurate enough to avoid injuring Oito or Woble. There was no choice, he had to retreat for now. He sprinted away from the group until he was gasping for air. Still trembling, he stumbled to the closest wall and plopped down before he _fell_ down. Sweat stung his eyes, and he wiped his face on the sleeve of his suit. Newly cleared eyes scanned for a hint of his location. The number of the nearest suite door was familiar. He'd gotten turned around and was almost back to where he'd had his encounter with Chrollo. He shuddered.

With a deep breath, he pushed himself up. The fact was he'd been replaced by a Class A criminal and as much as he hated to admit it; he was going to need every ally he could find. The only two people he could trust and possible contact were Leorio in the 3rd deck medical clinic or Mizaistom on the 4th deck. He had to keep going, even if it was one step at a time. The weight was seemingly impossible, but he slowly went on the left and then the right. Chunks of plaster crunched underfoot as he passed the wreckage towards the connection gate.

The stairwell between the 1st and 2nd deck was clogged with the dead. Watching his step he passed torsos burst open and limbs blown off as if they'd exploded from the inside. Disturbing as the mangled flesh was, it worried him deeply that he was unscathed.

Chrollo was serious about an alliance. One that could possibly be on the more permanent side...

There was little doubt having a team of expert thieves would prove useful to his goal. But he would never work with them. They killed for their whims, a line he would not cross. Not even if they offered him ice water in hell for it. If he contacted anyone, they could use them against him. It was a catch-22. He could never work with the Phantom Troupe, but he also could never bare to lose anyone again. This was why he needed the strength to work alone. That strength had failed him.

A sharp _gasp_ came from close by. Someone had spotted him. Whirling towards the source he prepared to attack. .22 in hand he froze as he met the other man's eyes. "What are you doing here?" Didn't he know it was dangerous!?

Leorio stared at him, mouth hanging wide open in shock as the medical supply boxes slipped out of his hands crashing to the ground with a harsh _thunk thunk thunk_.


	2. Chapter 2

'This is bizarre.' Kurapika was looking straight into Leorio's eyes. Under normal circumstances, he'd never be able to do so. He considered his usual height to be reasonable, but Leorio was taller than a dictator's ego.

Leorio bared his teeth and snarled. "What am I doing here? No, what are you doing here! Bastard." Hands tightened into fists. With a war cry, he shouted, "This is for Kurapika!"

There was a strange almost electrical _hiss_ as Leorio's fist hit the wall, disappearing into a hole.

A black portal appeared beneath Kurapika taking him by surprise. Too shocked to move he stared down into the vortex.

From the opening, a fist flew out uppercutting him. Teeth clicked together and pain rippled from his jaw at the rock hard hit.

He stumbled back, falling onto his ass as he tripped over one of the medical supply boxes. Growling, he touched a hand to his swelling cheek. The words that tumbled out were slurred. "Idiot, it's me!"

Leorio's face scrunched up. He looked down at Kurapika like he was a trick question on a pop quiz. "Huh?"

"It's me, Kurapika," He trailed off with a groan. That the spider of all people managed to get the jump on him, it was mortifying. "Chrollo has stolen my body."

"Oh,"

The __hum__ of the air conditioner filled the space between them.

Finally breaking the silence, Leorio said, "Well, why didn't you just say so. I'm not a mind reader, you know," He offered his hand to help Kurapika stand.

Holstering his gun, Kurapika pushed himself up ignoring the offered hand. With a disapproving __click__ of his tongue, he said, "Are you really going to believe me just because I told you so? This is the face of a Class A criminal. I could be lying."

"Scolding me for trying to help you..." Leorio rubbed the back of his neck and let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, that settles it. You really are you."

Kurapika's lips formed a straight, disapproving line. "That doesn't prove anything. It's illogical."

"Well, ugh, I could always punch you again if you want?"

"...That won't be necessary."

"Good. Your jaw is hard."

With an offended _huff_ , Kurapika floated the metal cross of his Holy Chain to his face. Once the soreness had vanished, he said, "Speaking of... this face. I need to cover any obvious distinguishing marks."

"Forget your face, you're covered in blood and enough dust to fill a desert." Fishing around in his coat pocket, Leorio pulled out a small cloth. With all the pride of a child showing off their newest fingerprint masterpiece, Leorio said, "You can use this."

Kurapika took the offered headband, it had "Study hard" written across the cloth. His eyebrows lifted and his lips curled up slightly at the ends, silly as it was at least it was a good sign he was taking his studies seriously. But did he have to be so embarrassing?

Leorio snatched the band out of Kurapika's hand. "Don't laugh, it's lucky!" Moving behind him, he began to tie the headband on Kurapika. " The first time I wore it I aced an anatomy exam. So don't lose it."

As the headband was fastened, Kurapika's chest tightened with gratitude. While he wasn't fond of being bathed in the spicy scent of Leorio's cologne, having someone there to help him was pleasant. It had been a long time since he'd had people to greet him, welcome him, and return too.

After ignoring Leorio for so long, he was always surprised at the warm reception he received each time they met. But he supposed it was just who Leorio was; he wasn't a genius or a prodigy, and he didn't have any outstanding combat abilities compared to the people around him, but he didn't need any of that to make an impact. What he needed and received from Leorio was his support. The small reminders that the world wasn't completely cruel gave him a reason to keep going. 'Thank you.'

There was one last tug; then Leorio stepped away with a satisfied smile. "Problem solved. Now we just have to deal with the spider, right?"

Kurapika ran a hand through his hair with a groan, if only things were as simple as Leorio made them sound...

"It's not just Chrollo, the entire troupe most likely stowed away on the ship. Mizaistom reported a rumor before the ship's departure 'some criminal ring is causing people's tickets to be rendered invalid due to the person supposedly already being on board.' Therefore, the Phantom Troupe is hidden on either the 3rd, 4th, or 5th deck among the general passengers."

Forehead creased from worry, Leorio said, "Now that is a problem."

"Indeed." Kurapika's eyes narrowed as if he expected to find them by looking harder. Flushing them out would be difficult. Their method of hiding in plain sight was _simple_ , but effective.

First, Chrollo touched someone in the crowd with the left hand to steal the passenger's likeness. Then with his right hand, he passed that identity onto the troupe member. There was the question of how long did the disguise last and how many could he maintain. The number of maintainable transformations had to be at least equal to the number of troupe members, but the duration was unknown. Which let open the option of attempting to wait their appearances being swapped out, but there was no telling the damage Chrollo could be doing to his reputation in the meanwhile.

The Black Whale was set to spend three weeks in the human territorial waters, then it would stop at a checkpoint for a final inspection and refueling. Five weeks in the untamed waters would follow before reaching the fake Dark Continent that the civilians and the royals would be left on. However, the actual trip would take longer as the remaining hunters and troops switched onto Morel's ship for the remainder of the voyage. There was no way to know if any intelligence had been leaked by either the Hunter's Association or the one of the V6 governments, the V5 plus the newly added Kakin. If Chollo switched their appearances for the trip, he was likely confident the effect would last for a minimum of two months.

Intolerable. Kurapika rubbed his temples, he could feel a headache coming on at the thought of being stuck as Chrollo for an another second let alone months. At least he couldn't feel Chrollo's presence constantly as he had when they were connected through his Chain Jail.

The Stake of Retribution cut both ways, allowing him to defeat his sworn enemies at the cost of his own life if misused- a double-edged sword. His mind overflowed with thoughts and he could feel the Nen blade in his heart as it skipped a beat. Covert Hands also had gone both ways.

While guarding Oito being a upper-ranking guard had given him access to a phone, that access was still limited. The ship was far enough away from the known world that the only available lines of communication by phone were the ship's landlines. All phones were guarded by troops with added restrictions to who can contact who.

Chrollo would not be able to contact any of the rival princes as they were from higher ranking queens and he could not call the other troupe members as they'd have no phone access. Given his leg injury, he'd have to look for treatment first, which would also delay any news of their conflict back to the troupe.

Dowsing Chain might be able to locate the troupe, however, any surprise from Kurapika's current appearance would be lost if his chains were visible. He needed to keep them hidden with En. Another method would have to be used to locate spiders hidden within the ship.

His shoulders slumped, he was right back at a dead end.

"Don't get all mopey on me," said Leorio, lightly he tapped Kurapika's arm with a friendly punch. "The first time the Phantom Troupe messed with you, you went from some kid out in the middle of nowhere to a hunter capable of one-shotting them. If you ask me, anything that doesn't kill you should start running."

Allowing his arms to hang limply at his sides Kurapika said, "You're right. It's just that I thought I was ready too. In case we ever crossed paths again, I made recordings of all his matches in Heaven's Arena. I took notes." He head hung down as if it weighed too much to lift up anymore. "After I gave up on hunting the spiders, I believed I'd changed since the last time I saw him. But I hadn't. The same anger was still there, but now I'm just tired. I'm not growing up - I'm just burning out."

"Stop trying to be profound, Kurapika. You're not a wise old man you're a fucking 19-year-old kid." Leorio sighed before continuing. "...You can still change your mind, you know. Your life is only what you make-"

"Stop trying to parent me. Are you sure your not an old man?"

"I'm sure. So are you going to tell me what you're up to or not?"

Kurapika could feel Leorio's eyes on him, searching for the blood under his nails, the bags under his eyes, and the stories that don't get told. There was no knowing who each pair belonged to, but every set reminded him of someone: A mafia daughter, artists, politicians, billionaires, millionaires, the founders of religions, many board and chief members of organizations, a conman, a minister, a doctor, a musician, a lawyer, a cram-school lecturer, and now the final tale... a prince.

As he looked down at his bloody hands he wondered if Leorio could see right through him. Could he see all the secrets, all the lies, and all the pain he'd caused to collect the scarlet eyes? He prayed for Leorio's sake that he couldn't. It was ugly. Where he was dragging himself through the dark by his nails, Leorio lived in the light. "There's nothing to worry about. Right now I just need to focus on getting my body back."

An infuriated moan erupted from Leorio's throat as he stomped his foot against the hard floor. "Like hell, there's nothing to worry about. I won't let my friends leave me behind anymore! I sat on my ass safe and sound. Studying, picking up girls, and jacking off, all the while Killua and Gon were in the NGL risking their lives. I don't even know what you were doing then." He bit his lip, holding back. After taking a shaky breath, the river of frustration burst through anyway. "Not this time. I couldn't save Pietro and I couldn't help Gon, but god damn it if I'm not going to be there for you."

The loss of his friend, Pietro, had driven Leorio to devote his life to becoming a doctor. Seeing another on their deathbed, in the hospital, unable to do anything... Hopeless. It was his worst nightmare.

'I won't put you through that again.' The fear of losing an important person, of not being able to save them, that was something Kurapika understood well. He had hated every day that Pairo's sight dimmed. Powerless, useless, and unworthy of his friend who smiled at him even while standing on small shaking legs. Leaving for a doctor, he'd believed he could save him. Only to have that hope stolen away. "...don't worry. I won't let myself die before avenging my clan. That much I swear."

"Good because I am going to give you so much shit if you die, do you fucking hear?"

"Not for much longer if you keep yelling like that."

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Leorio said, "Sorry. I just don't want you to get too fixated on revenge or you'll end up in a hospital bed and I'll end up needing to take over the entire Hunter Association. Killua will have to make a deal with his creepy family. Again!"

Mizaistom had told Kurapika that Gon had been hospitalized, but this sounded...dire. The explanation had been unclear. He hadn't even known Gon had recovered till reuniting with Leorio for their introduction to the other Zodiacs.

"Wa-Wait a minute, what exactly was Gon doing in the NGL?"

"Well, somebody would know if he'd have picked up his phone every once and a while."

Kurapika rolled his eyes; it was childish and petty, but true. "Low blow, but fair enough." A smile, small, but real formed on his lips. "I'm... glad your here." He focused all of his energy into it, in the vain hope that Leorio might absorb his gratitude through some kind of emotional osmosis.

"Damn right you are."

Kurapika groaned, hiding his face behind his hand as it hit his forehead with a light _smack._ Honestly, Leorio looked like a puffed up rooster to him."If you want to help I need to find a way to locate the Phantom Troupe, Prince Harkenburg, or Prince Tsrriednich."

"The other two I get, but why Harkenburg? Isn't Tsrriednich the one with the eyes?"

Hand sliding down to thoughtfully hold his chin, Kurapika said, "If I can get to Harkenburg, I'll have access to Tserriednich. He himself once posted on Facebox 'Tserriednich is the only one of the princes that accepts me.' "

"FaceBox... Your stalking Prince Harkenburg's FaceBox, but you won't even give me your email?"

"That sounded ridiculous. Do you hear yourself?" said Kurapika. He didn't stalk anyone, it was... information retrieval. At least that was his story and he was sticking to it.

"One of us has too."

Picking up one of the fallen boxes, Kurapika asked, "Shouldn't you be in the clinic?"

Leorio took the box from him with a frown. "Customers have been flooding in and fighting in the pharmacy. We're just about out of anti-histamines and diphenidol. Being an intern I figured if anyone should leave it should be me, so I asked Cheadle to get me cleared with security." He snorted. "Rich bastards on the second floor gave me a hard time, but I managed to wheedle a few cases off of them."

A supply shortage this early in the voyage was unexpected, but the Hunter's Association underestimated Kakin's carelessness. In the worst position was the medical staff which was only at 1/15th the expected number of staff, disgustingly the majority of which was on the upper decks where there was one doctor for every twenty people. The remaining almost 200,000 passengers had to deal with having three treatment rooms on the 3rd deck, two on the fourth, and zero on the 5th. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but time had taught him that there was truth to Leorio's money obsession. Money bought doctors; money bought his people's eyes.

As they gathered up the remaining supplies, Kurapika said, "I see you finally learned Nen."

"Of course I did. I can't have everyone leaving me behind. That Warp Punch isn't the only thing I can do either. Through palpation, which means using my hands to examine the body, and tapping, I can release my aura in pulses around an area like an ultrasound to detect other organisms within it or abnormalities in the human body."

Tightening his grip on the medical supply box he was lifting, Kurapika came to a halt. "Ultrasound En... Can you detect things in other objects or is the ability limited to live organisms? "

"I should be able to check anything I can touch. Why?"

"Simple, we're going to scan the ship for Nen users."

All living bodies produce the life energy that is their aura. Aura from all parts of the body has a tendency to flow together, producing one mass of energy. This happens without the individual's awareness, typically resulting in a slow leak of aura continually escaping the body. The opening of the points on the body from which aura flows is what makes a Nen user. Because of the openings, Nen users must constantly prevent the leaking of their aura, keeping flowing it around the body as a protective layer of Ten instead of allowing it to escape. As long as the Nen user was not in a state of Zetsu, a full withdrawal of their aura, they would be detectable by En and have a separate signature from normal creatures.

While there were 200,000 passengers aboard between the spiders, the princes' bodyguards, and the Hunter Association's allies the number of Nen user signatures would be somewhere around approximately 250 people. Only the bodyguards or the spiders would group together in large numbers as the Zodiacs had split into four divisions with the largest two groups having four members. As the princes' bodyguards movements were restricted to the upper two decks and the spiders were hidden on the bottom three, it stood to reason that if Leorio detected any group of signatures between five to twelve people then they could assume it was the remaining members of the Phantom Troupe.

"I'll carry half the boxes, you take the other half. We'll pass through the guard station to the 3rd deck together," said Kurapika as he adjusted his hold on the boxes. "Then I want you to use your ability to search the ship. I want to know if you find any groups of five or more."

"And what's your grand plan to clean yourself up? Or do you think you can just walk up and tell the guards all that blood magically appeared on you... also, ugh, I think you've got a chunk in your hair."

Shifting the boxes in his arms, Kurapika wiped the stray bit of mess off. "Nothing. The 3rd floor isn't restricted and frankly stopping a hunter covered in blood is well above a foot soldier's pay grade. If they value their life, they won't try to stop me."

"If they try anyway?"

"Then it will be lucky for them that I'm bringing a doctor with me."

True to his prediction, they passed the checkpoint to the 3rd deck unquestioned. Kurapika stared down all who met his gaze. Contacts still in place, his eyes were dark voids that a frozen hell waited behind. Even the black color of his suit couldn't hide the blood stains. No one dared to ask. Flashing his license he proved he was a hunter and he was with Leorio who had clearance, that was enough for them to pass him through with a shiver.

While the 1st deck was ornate and spacious, fit for the royalty that dwelled within it, the 3rd seemed more fitting for sardines then humans. Fortunately for them, the crowds were quite willing to give the tall, dark, and blood stained Kurapika a wide berth. It took some time, but they found an empty corridor and set down the supply boxes.

Placing his hand along the wall, there was a sharp _tap-tap-tap_ as Leorio drummed his fingers against the back of his hand. Pointing his other hand at the floor he said, "On the 5th deck, there are six Nen users."

Kurapika grabbed a map of the ship out of his jacket. Highlighted lines of various colors had been drawn in a maze-like pattern between Woble's room and every life raft on the ship. "Mark the location on this."

As soon as Leorio handed back the map, Kurapika turned and began to walk away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked Leorio, grabbing onto Kurapika's shoulder to stop him.

Kurapika had a promise to keep. While not impossible, he doubted Chrollo would allow harm to come to Oito and Woble. They both knew he wasn't going to walk into the spider's web willingly without bait.

Before springing any traps he needed a new strategy for their next encounter as a fatal flaw the Chain Jail on his middle finger had been revealed. Environmental factors that blocked his vision or abilities that muddled his senses were a problem. It would win him the battle as soon as it hit, but if he was unable to aim accurately then there was little he could do to ensure his victory.

The Holy Chain on his thumb also would be of little use if his body no longer existed to regenerate.

Dowsing Chain on his ring finger was dependent on him being steady, he could not both dodge and keep the chain still enough to aid his accurate in a fight.

On his little finger, the Judgment Chain was too weak to overcome most Ten on it's own and needed the target to either be in Zetsu or compliant.

With four of his five chains negated, he was left with one choice for a possible victory. He still had his index finger. Chrollo had proved his point, he could not win against him in battle. Therefore, he needed to secure triumph before that point. If he could get Chrollo to shake his hand, he'd end the fight before it could begin.

Short fuse lit and burning brightly, he wasn't going to let the troupe, or the princes, or anyone else get between him and the scarlet eyes. Raising his chin defiantly, a dangerous idea spread like wildfire in his mind. This time he'd chose the battlefield. "To infiltrate the Phantom Troupe."

"I'm coming with you."

Kurapika brushed off Leorio's hand with a sigh. There was no way he could disguise Leorio and he had a much more important job for him. "I know you want to help, but if the troupe rampages the medical team is going to need all the help it can get." Speaking slowly and precisely, he raised a finger. "One more thing, be sure to explain the situation to Cheadle."

Serving as both the Chairman of the Hunter Association and the Chief of Staff for the expedition, Cheadle had phone access to anyone within the association. As long as she could be contacted the other Zodiacs could be alerted to the situation.

Leorio gave him a firm nod and said, "I understand."

"You know your way back to the clinic, right?"

With a light tone, Leorio replied, "Of course I do. It's very easy to find... it's just down one of the hallways that look like all the others." He paused, pressing his lips into a thin frown. "Be careful and remember: no rampaging without me."

"...I'll be cautious."

Leorio shot him a look of disapproval, but walked away with his arms full of supplies.

Shoulders sagging with the weight of the world, Kurapika stood alone. Following the map, he took stairway after stairway down, down, down till he was in the underbelly of the Black Whale. Step by step the path was easy as he descended, it was the return trip that would be the difficult part.

Touching under his eye, he contemplated whether to take his contacts out or not. Underneath them would be Chrollo's natural eye color, however, since Cover Hands was merely cosmetic his eyes would still turn red under the effects of strong emotions. One unchecked thought and he'd be alone and surrounded. Why Chrollo was wearing contacts in the first place would draw questions, though. The less initial suspension, the higher his chances of success. Pulling down his eyelid, he removed his contacts and double checked that his chains were hidden.

As he passed through the tall shadows from the cargo creates, he heard a footstep and then a _slap-_ sandals.

His hand idly resting on his sword, Nobunaga asked in a slow drawl, "Back so soon, Boss?"

* * *

Whoever anonymous S is, thank you for stopping to leave a review! It's always nice to know I'm not talking to empty air whenever I post.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurapika turned to face Nobunaga, his white dress shirt and suit were spattered with blood. His hands were covered in it, the pale skin of his hands obscured by the dark crimson. He held them up and away from his body, in a peaceful gesture, and they trembled slightly from exhaustion. Having hidden his chains, one suspicion and the use of Gyo could ruin everything. His face was pale and his hair matted with sweat.

As Nobunaga approached, his face was lined with concern. Any animosity between them was temporarily forgotten. The question he wanted to ask was plain on his face, and before he could open his mouth, Kurapika spoke.

"It was touch and go for a while, but I know where the treasure is."

There was no way of knowing if the Spider's had a specific target Chrollo had been looking for, but it had sounded as if any of the princes were free game. Including the 4th prince, Tserriednich, who had the remaining scarlet eyes.

Slapping Kurapika's back with enough force to push him slightly off balance, Nobunaga gave a short laugh. "That's our boss for ya! Let's go tell the others the news." He paused. A hand went into his robe to scratch his chest mindlessly as he looked away. "You may wanna clean up first. You smell worse than home on a hot day."

Steaming garbage - Kurapika frown, he wasn't that bad. Pretending to wipe his forehead of sweat he sniffed near his bloodied cuff-link. It was an accurate description. Shit. "Right, bath first."

Following Nobunaga, they ruffled through the cargo creates in search of clean clothing. Peeking into the contents, he silently questioned the ability of Kakin to move the civilian passengers on to the false Dark Continent. Starting a colony was extremely resource heavy, but more of the creates seemed to be filled with odd electronics than necessities such as clothes or non-perishable food. It was unsurprising given how poorly they'd handled security, staffing, and medical care. When he hit the crate of Chocolate Balls, he closed the lid immediately. Toys and candy. The king of Kakin, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, was treating exploring a new continent the same way Killua treated a camping trip.

A curt, but not unkind, grunt came from Nobunaga. "I found something." Reaching out, he handed over his find, it was a clean pair of slacks and a shirt.

Taking the offered clothing from one of his sworn enemies was unnerving, to say the least, but Kurapika managed to force a smile. Unsure of whether Chrollo would offer thanks or not, he hesitated before giving a small nod of acknowledgment. The gratitude was real even if the was joy not. If the only option had been to search Chrollo's belongings, he would have exploded. Walking a mile in Chrollo's shoes was enough, he wasn't going to wear the man's clothes too.

Moving again, they soon came to a door - the crew cabin for the 5th deck's workers. Opening the door, he corrected himself, it was the crew's tomb. With pale fingers, he pulled at the knot of his tie as if choking. The dead were covered in stab wounds, some were deep for efficient killing other were covered in long incisions - drawn out deaths. There had been two killers with swords.

"When did this happen?"

"Ah, Phinks spilled soda on Fei's robes. Fei turned freakin' red, you shoulda seen it. It was like if you gave a tomato a sword, a black robe, and the ability to kill us all, but at least now we don't have to go up to the public baths on the 4th deck."

Murdered for a damn shower when there were public baths just one flight of stairs away... Kurapika closed his eyes. "I've always wondered... what do you think about when you kill?"

"Hmm, nothing in particular. You know me, I just enjoy a good fight."

A shaky exhale came from Kurapika. Killing was not fun. It was dirty, despicable, and stained everyone an ever darkening red. Was the man beside him the samurai Gon and Killua had spoken of? A murderous monster that was kind to children. Almost assuredly, he owned this man their lives even if his argument had been geared towards their survival for the sake of recruitment.

Head tipping forward, too tired to be held up anymore, his closed eyes were hidden by his hair. The eyes, he had to remember the eyes. Laying his people to rest would be their justice, not killing the Phantom Troupe. The tribe would have preferred it that way, they'd been peaceful and moved the entire village rather than risk conflict. He was the only one stained and it'd be a wonder if they'd still be willing to welcome him once he saw them again on the other side. A decision - As long as Nobunaga was not involved he'd let him live. His stomach churned and he pushing out the words was like forcing a lump of coal up his throat. He was already sure of the answer.

"Your right, I know you well enough I should have expected that. My mind has just been stuck on Uvogin lately."

"Mine too after what happened to Shal and Kortopi. If I ever see Hisoka or that Chain Bastard again I'll kill'em."

Two more dead Spiders - Hisoka had killed again, but when? Recently from the sound of it, but Hisoka was dead. He'd seen the corpse on tv. Everyone had given the celebrity status of high ranked Heaven's Arena fighters. Yet, in Yorknew he'd seen the Spider's corpses in person and they'd been faking their deaths. The most logical conclusion was that Hisoka was the dead man chasing Chrollo intent on wiping out the Phantom Troupe. In response, Chrollo wanted his aid against Hisoka. Chances were Hisoka was also on board the ship then. Let them destroy each other, the enemy of his enemy was his enemy's enemy and no more.

He stayed by the entryway as Nobunaga entered the room, starting a battle didn't necessitate abandoning an exit strategy. Feigning a retreat was the best course of action given the environment, the room was long narrow and filled with sparse bunk beds for the crew. The advantage would belong to Nobunaga if they fought in the room. Kurapika's advantage of a longer ranged weapon would be counteracted by the limited amount of space. Additionally with only one direction to defend or attack from get his chains passed Nobunaga's guard would be more difficult than if they fought in an open area.

"Obviously, here's the bathroom."

"One last question: do you remember the Kuruta clan massacre?" asked Kurapika, opening his eyes to take in Nobunaga. He watched from behind red lenses the man's eyes widened and his hands dropped to his sword.

"What the fuck!?"

"Answer the question."

"I remember every moment I was at Uvo's side, we were always together, even as brats... Right up until you stole him from me, you bastard!"

Staring into Nobunaga's eyes, he could see the venom in them. That hatred was a familiar hatred. He had taken Uvogin, but they had taken Pairo first. He turned away. Running out of the room, away from the anger in those eyes and the tears, Kurapika laid out his Chain Jail around the room's exit. On enhanced legs, he jumped atop a pile of crates.

Below Nobunaga dashed out of the crew's room. Hand poised to draw and in low crouching posture, Nobunaga spread out his En. A half-sphere like bubble formed around him to cover everything within attack distance.

Kurapika took inventory, he had a gun his jacket holster, a switchblade in his pocket, his dual shortswords hidden in their usual place by tucking them into his pants waist, and his chains.

The .22 caliber was useless, Nobunaga would cut down the bullets and without being an emitter or having any emission training there was no way to give them enough punch to have a decent chance at making it through his guard. The best he could do is enhance the bullets, but without being able to extend his aura from himself it would offer little to no improvement.

Being mostly for intimidation purposes during interrogations the switchblade was even more useless. He wasn't about to bring a knife to a swordfight.

Shorter in length than Nobunaga's sword and lacking a protective hand guard he'd be at a heavy disadvantage if he went in with his short swords even if he unsheathed them. He'd need both to block Nobunaga's sword since being a longer and curved blade the center of balance would be further back. Their speed and overall weight would be similar, but the point of balance difference would allow Nobunaga to put more power into his swing. This would negate the advantage of him having a second sword and without hand guards on the hilt if the blades slipped he would most likely lose his fingers.

His Nen chains were his best chance against the Spider. Strong enough to hold Uvogin and longer ranged than Nobunaga's sword they offered him a clear advantage. If he could wrap the chains around the sword he could pull it out of Nobunaga's hands. Though, most likely Nobunaga would be physically stronger than him. Without surprise, the Spider could use the connection to throw him around by pulling or swinging his sword.

While he had an idea of the what strength the Spider's had, their speed was an unknown quantity. He knew from Gon and Killua that Nobunaga was able to nearly instantly detect and attack anything with his En within a short range of around 13ft or 4m. A quick glance of Gyo confirmed the approximate size of the circle remained unchanged since the encounter at Yorknew. It was unlikely Nobunaga was the fastest Spider, but he'd be a good test run.

He ripped the lid off a crate. Kicking it, he sent it and the contents crashing down towards Nobunaga.

In a flurry of slashes, bits of the box and dozens of electronic bits lay at Nobunaga's feet.

Kurapika pulled in his hidden Chain Jail, but as soon as it entered the circle Nobunaga reacted.

The sword sliced through the air.

His chain's snapped.

"Ha, did you see that! Your chains won't hold me."

"No shit, I'm seeing red, but I'm not blind."

As the metal links bounced off the ground in a series of heavy _clink-clink-clinks_ Kurapika noted that there was an important distinction between Uvogin strength against his chains and Nobunaga's sword against them. Uvogin's raw strength had been tested against them with his Nen sealed, while Nobunaga had his Nen focused into enhancing his blade when it struck the chains. In order to ensnare Nobunaga, he needed to slip his chains passed the sword and force him into Zetsu. Once that had been achieved it would be Nobunaga's strength against the chains and the Chain Jail would win.

As a Kuruta warrior, Kurapika understood that a warrior's weapon was his soul. But he was out of options.

Pulling out his swords he tore off the wrappings off the scabbards. Weapons in hand he swung downward while jumping off the crates.

This would cause Nobunaga to block overhead. The importance being that edge weapons block with the flat side, not the edge. This allowed the weapon to flex as it blocked or parried. Edge to edge could cause the blade to fracture with a hard blow. Having the sharp end not pointing up also would keep him from getting skewered as he leaped down. Dropping his right sword it hung dangerously by the rope connecting it to its partner. As the left sword hit Nobunaga's weapon, his chains flew from his right hand wrapping around the blade's upper portion. He pushed on one side and pulled on the other.

Metal flexed.

The sword snapped.

Kurapika sent out his Chain Jail again as he punched. The punch failed to connect as a knee to his stomach forced out an unexpected wheeze.

He sailed across the room like a rag doll, and crashed to the metal floor horribly, bone cracked and metal creaked as he landed. Disoriented and dazed, but successful. Clutching the metal links between his slender fingers he was half angel, fallen and bound within the chains of his vengeance, and half grim reaper showing Nobunaga what few grains of sand remained before it was his time to pass on.

Sword blade broken at his feet, Nobunaga stood bound. Teeth bared, eyes wild, and breath quick, it was the stance of a man on the verge of hopeless insanity.

From the Arbitrating Little Finger flew the Judgement Chain. The blade made quick work of its target, passing between flesh and muscle and sinking deeply into Nobunaga's unsuspecting heart.

"I'm going to set two conditions if you violate either then my chains will crush your heart."

"Fuck you."

"Nowhere near what I was thinking," said Kurapika, rubbing his fingers almost affectionately over his chains. The bonds of his hatred. "...Sometimes I wonder why I'm even here. I grew up in a quiet village with a nice family. You'd know that after all, you saw it and met them. In a way..."

Mother, father, and Pairo, reduced down to objects to be bought and sold.

He dug his fist into Nobunaga's body. It was squishier than Uvogin's. "But you spared my friends, regardless of the reason. So I'll let you live as long as you follow my rules."

"Kill me."

Another punch.

His throat was tight. It felt like a sick joke to be saying the same words again: "Tell me everything you know."

Again, again, and again, he struck. Blood was spat on his shoes. Looking down his bloody shoes seemed fuzzy, this had all happened before, hadn't it?

The crunching under his left hand and the gurgle of pained moans.

It made him sick.

A rusty smell hung in the air.

Disgusting.

Calm, too calm he continued, "My Nen blade is within your heart, this is your only chance. What abilities do the other spider's possess?"

"Fuck you."

Blood splattered on his face as he watched Uvogin fall again before his eyes. At his feet Nobunaga was dead.

Red eyes dulled back to their normal color as their fire went out. There was only an empty nothing - a sad void - where his heart was.

He'd killed again.

Legs shaking, he slumped down to the floor. The use of the scarlet eyes had left him drained and the emptiness seemed so much deeper than before.

He hated the Spiders.

He hated the mob.

The chains around his fingers were cold and pinched, his hands were as numb. They were heavy and he couldn't feel the weight of anything else.

He wanted to go back.

The only thing he could remember was his tribe's prayer and so that one thing he did outpour. "I wish to share the happiness with all my comrades. Also to share their sorrow. Please forever bless the members of the Kuruta clan. Allow our scarlet eyes to bear witness."

A record of happier times on repeat.

When the loop finally broke how long he'd been there was a mystery. He saw the body at his side - Nobunaga.

There was no way to bury him, but was unacceptable leave a broken soul without rest. He shivered as he lifted the still warm body and carried it back to the crew room.

Nobunaga and the Spider called Fei had killed them all inside. A blood trail from dragging the body outside would attract attention.

Removing the bed sheets off the bunk beds, Kurapika covered the crew members and Nobunaga. Given the length of the journey, the Spiders would need to clear the bodies from the room at some point in the near future. Wrapped up like the others it was doubtful they'd notice Nobunaga. This way when they disposed of them he'd be put to rest by his comrades. The white fabric quickly stained and Kurapika turned away to take his shower.

Clean and redressed in new clothing, Kurapika explored the dark maze of cargo boxes. He walked with a slower gait than usual, the Holy Chain had only been able to accelerate his bodies healing enough to fix the major damage and broken bones. Passing under the tall shadows he occasional fingered the headband Leorio had loaned him which was stuffed into his pocket. Twisting along the thin pathways, he found the current hideaway of the deadliest group of criminals currently on the Black List: the Phantom Troupe.

Atop their own create were two Spiders on look-out duty. They sat back to back like mirror images proving them a full view of the surrounding area. One was a man dressed in white with dark hair and the other a woman who was his opposite reflection. They stared at him with empty eyes like broken dolls with painted smiles. From their hands the mark of the spider stared back at him, they were numbers eight and eleven, the replacements of Pakunoda and Uvogin.

Colored paper was scattered across the floor as Kalluto sat by Shizuku trying to teach her how to make paper cranes. Across the hideaway, Phinks kept opening and closing boxes as if searching for something.

Six Spiders - five now, just as Leorio had sensed. There was no relieve to be found in the revelation that the intel had been correct, however.

Each Spider was in their natural state rather than disguised as a random passenger. All his theories on the length of Covert Hands duration had to be called into question. His timetable had shortened considerably if they had come aboard one at a time. If that was the case, then one transformation at a time might be the limit. Therefore his only choice would be to make his move before Chrollo could pull off any scheme.

Phinks slammed his hand down onto the lid of a nearby box. "Who the fuck ate all the Chocolate Balls!?"

Popping one of the candies into her mouth, Yin, replied, "We ate them."

Yang rolled his eyes. "No, you're supposed to say 'I don't know, but it wasn't us.'"

"If he doesn't lie to us, I won't lie to him."

"Then don't say anything. You don't have to lie and I get to keep the Chocorobo. A net win for us."

Phinks' mouth clamp shut around what would have been a spew of angry and probably vulgar words – uncultured bastard. His lips twitched, it wasn't a smile as much as a baring of teeth. "He is right here."

"We know," answered Yin with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But we're not required to be friendly. Right, boss?"

Selecting a spot where all the Spiders could be kept to one side and within view, Kurapika sat down. Leaning over he rested his elbows on his legs and clasped his hands together in a silent prayer for strength. "I hate you all with great intensity."

Instead of acting affronted, Yang laughed. "See the boss agrees with us... I think."

"And I think you at least owe me that Chocorobo," said Phinks rolling his shoulder to stretch the muscles.

Shoving a hand into her pocket, Shizuka fished out a gleaming gold coin with the image of a spider. "Hey, remember the rules."

"Heads"

Flipping off Shizuka's thumb the coin went up and hit the ground with a _clink_. "Tails."

"Fuck."

Picking up the toy Yin cuddled it to her chest as Yang said, "Ha, Ha, the Chocorobo belongs to us and it shall be our squishy!"

"You can't name a robot squishy. It has to be something cool like Killbot, Murder Machine, Slaughter Cyborg, or Death Metal. Hey, Shizuku flip the coin again."

Kalluto picked the coin off the ground. "Are you going to make it a coin flip for every name?"

"Not every name. Just until it gets a cool one."

There was a huff from Yin. "It already has a cool name - squishy."

"Boss, how long till Fei and Machi get back? I'm going crazy stuck here with all these damn brats."

Kurapika ceased breathing for a second. There was only one reason why he'd be expected to have that information. The simple horrible reason being that Chrollo had been separated from his allies when they encountered each other, but he had not been alone. Machi was an unknown factor, but he'd seen the results of Fei's fighting style. The man was a sadist. "I can't give you an exact timetable, but whenever Fei is done playing around."

"Figures. They should still hurry up, even with Bono, Nobunaga, and Franklin patrolling the area who knows if that salt factory of a clown will show up."

Pulling out his fan, Kalluto tapped it against his chin thoughtfully. A smile, more predatory than childlike, spread across Kalluto's face. "If it will put your mind at ease, the boss and I can go check for them in the immediate area. After all, it would be a shame to find out someone was lurking about."

Slowly nodding, Kurapika rose. Caught, he'd have to play Kalluto's game for now. There was no chance he'd be able to take five Spiders at once should he refuse and Kalluto call him out on his identity. "We'll be back as soon as we've searched the parameter."

"Are you sure boss?" asked Phinks. "You look kind of wobbly."

Walking over to Kalluto, Kurapika replied, "I just need to get my sea legs. You and squishy can hold down the fort."

As they left, he could hear Phinks shout, "God damn it we're not calling it that!"

While Kurapika wasn't sure of the exact words, he recalled Killua saying his family had a strong stance on the Phantom Troupe: avoid them. Kalluto was doing this on his own. The Zoldycks were powerful, but he doubted Kalluto was at the same level as the other spiders. Most likely he'd been allowed in because of either having a unique ability or having one suited for thievery. Given his training as an assassin, the second option had the highest probability.

In theory, the practice of bringing in the strongest, the most useful, and those that killed previous members was a way to turn enemies into allies. However, in practice, it was terrible for unit cohesion.

Tracking down and obtaining the scarlet eyes had given him plenty of practice in taking advantage of systematic errors such as that. The first step was alway to learn who had access to the information he needed, then to find who among them was desperate or had an inclination towards betrayal. A little bribe or blackmailing would do; a little kindness, a little threat or turning on the charm was more than enough to get him into even the most paranoid of social circles. To be openly disobeying the Zoldyck family patriarch, Kalluto was desperate to find Killua. This made him the weak link in the spider's web.

Five or six rows were passed while neither made a sound beyond the tapping of their footsteps.

Then Kalluto came to a halt.

A ghost of a smile graced his lip as he said, "I know you're not the boss." He pulled a small human-shaped scrap of paper out of his sleeve. "This is my Surveillance Paper Doll. By attaching a piece of confetti to a person's body and creating a paper doll of that person, I'm able to hear anything being said within the vicinity of that person."

Face kept carefully neutral, Kurapika almost scoffed. This was nothing more than a kid with a toy, looking to show off for praise. It too much like Killua when he'd shown them his ability to turn his hands into claws.

Chrollo's voice came from one of the dolls. "Small acts of kindness do not make up for great acts of evil."

Eyes focused on the doll, Kurapika had to admit it was a useful ability. Acquiring reliable information about Chrollo was not an easy feat, let alone spying on him. It wasn't foolproof, however, since it only offered audio. If the target became aware they could communication through alternate means, such as body language or writing, while using the link to spread misinformation. Still, it would be an improvement over his current situation, with the Spider's scattered about he needed a reliable way to keep tabs on them.

A trade - Kalluto's information, but for what?

Kurapika stood still, scrutinizing the child before him. "You've caught me, but do you know who you've caught?"

"The Chain Bastard, I heard it from Nobunaga's doll. You're strong enough to fight the Troupe and they think you're the boss, that's all I need to know."

Kalluto was a child, foolish, proud, and not the least bit aware how close to potential death he lingered. While he hadn't revealed any of his combat abilities, it was likely from his Surveillance Dolls that he was either a manipulator or a conjurer who focused on paper. Additionally, from the feel of his aura, he wasn't anywhere near as powerful as the other Spiders and didn't seem half as concerned about it as he should be.

It could take Kurapika less than a second to capture Kalluto in his Chain Jail and use the Judgement Chain. Then he would be allowed to set two rules for Kalluto that if broken would crush Kalluto's heart. The first condition would have to be "You can not reveal my identity." For the second condition, he'd set "You can not attack me." However, placing restrictions on Kalluto ran the risk of the boy dying if he chose to break them.

While martyrdom went strongly against everything the Zoldyck's ingrained into their own, he wasn't going to bet Kalluto's life like a cheap poker chip. He'd already made similar bets before and lost.

Pakunoda.

Uvogin.

...And Nobunaga had all died for the Spider refusing to be the monsters his conscience needed them to be.

A dead child, a Zoldyck one especially, was the last thing he wanted. He'd never be able to look Killua in the eyes again. Or himself. Then there was the rest of the Zoldyck family. While was eccentric, it was unlikely they'd let the murder of one of their own go unchallenged. Dying on the job was one thing, being killed elsewhere was another.

"If you're aware of my strength coming out here alone with me was foolish."

"Your aura is almost depleted. I need control of the Troupe to find someone."

There was only one person who Kurapika could think of that Kalluto could have an interest in. The boss' orders were absolute and with their strength, he hoped to force his target to return home. Information for being Kalluto's puppet.

"Killua."

 _Snap_ \- Kalluto flicked his wrist opening his fan. "How do you know that?"

"If you'd gathered more information, you'd have known I'm a friend of your brother. There's no point in hiding it as several of the Spider's are aware of the connection."

"One of Kil's friends," Kalluto trailed off. Bloodlust poured out of him as he tilted his head and gave a smile that was just a little too thin. "Are you going to take my brother away from me like Alluka?"

"Killua's life is his own and I have no right to dictate it." 'And neither do you...'

"Do you know where he is?"

"No." A half-truth. Kurapika didn't know the exact location of where he was, but he knew where he was going at least up until the time of the voyage.

Paper crinkled as Kalluto stuffed his fan away, lips downturned in a childish pout. Eyes downcast he was clearly speaking to himself as he said, "Of course, I shouldn't have expected it to be that easy."

It was a strange thought to Kurapika, Kalluto had to be around the same age Gon and Killua had been when he'd met them. "This is your first time out on your own, isn't it?" Neither of them had been entirely sure of what they wanted back then, perhaps Kalluto could be swayed towards another goal. "Is the wish to find Killua your own or your family's? If you're simply obeying orders without question, that isn't your wish, but your greatest tragedy."

"I want to find Killua. Get him to meet with me and I'll give you information on the Phantom Troupe members. Otherwise, Kil is going to have one less person to spend his time with instead of me."

Holding back a frustrated sigh, he wished he had Gon's ability to sway other's to his side. Kurapika, however, was not like that. He didn't befriend easily and most of his success at forging one-sided friendships to get what he needed came from other's appreciating his competency not his personality. Intimidation was his method of choice for a reason. Unfortunately, he was in no position to do more than bark. All the leverage was on Kalluto's side.

After battling both Nobunaga and Chrollo his energy was spent, even if he forced up enough to deal with Kalluto he'd be left defenseless while the other Spiders were nearby. Attempting to escape would likely end with at least Kalluto and possibly more Spiders on his tail depending on if Kalluto had any abilities able to contact the others through the pre-placed confetti. If the dolls could be listened through, there was a chance they could go both ways.

"If I die, you'll lose your only led. I'll talk to Killua for you when the expedition is over. It's the best offer you're going to get."

It was the only offer he had to make. The only alternative would be to agree to kidnap Killua for Kalluto, which was neither someone thing he was willing to do or something he was entirely sure he even could manage.

"Fine. I'm going to put a Surveillance Doll on you. If you remove the confetti I'll assume you've broken your end of our bargain. Disobey any orders I give and the deal is off as well."

With a nod of agreement, Kurapika was bound to Kalluto by a scrap of paper smaller than a 100 Jenny coin. All that mattered is that it would take him one step closer on his journey to reclaiming his appearance and the scarlet eyes.

Adventure was just a romantic word now for things never going as planned.

* * *

I just want to thank everyone that followed, faved, and reviewed. I've never gotten so many reviews! I confess to being total Kura/Chrollo trash, but I did mean it when I said no pairings for this. There's a huge difference in getting him to a point he could be compliant enough for a deal vs being in a position for a romance subplot. I do outline my stories beforehand so shifting around all 25 chapters of plotting would be a major pain, it's much easier to ship them in a different story. Ship teasing will happen, though, because I'm weak and it's just too good to resist. Hopefully, everyone got their Kurapika fix, next chapter we're catching up with what Chrollo and other characters were doing during this time because Togashi seriously stuffed this boat.


	4. Chapter 4

Biting back a growl, Cheadle slammed the phone down. Had her dog ears been real instead of part of her headband they would have flattened against her head. "Sanbika, you're in charge until I get back."

Single-star hunter and the Hunter Association's lead doctor Sanbika jumped at the sound of her own name. Scambling she dropped all her notes and spun to face Cheadle. "In charge, why? I can't lead anyone, I'm only good at my own work."

"One of the queens just called me from the clinic on the 2nd deck, it seems I'm going to need to chew out the new Rat about being reckless. Don't worry, only be for an hour at the most. I know you can handle this."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence but, p-please hurry back!"

Stomping out of the clinic, Cheadle was on the war path. The agreement for Kurapika's recruitment had been simple. He could prioritize his hunt for the Scarlet Eyes as long as he didn't exacerbate the political tensions and in return, this appeased Leorio who she needed to solidify her new political position within the association. The expedition had only just launched and somehow he'd already torn up both his leg and an entire hallway on the 2nd deck. She gave him an inch and he took a mile.

The Hunter Association's purpose was not to be a police organization, but rather more of an administration to organize the efforts of the greatest talent the world had to off. By offering perks outside of normal human rights there was always a strong incentive for new applications for each Hunter exam. This allowed the association to collect capable people enable which in turn benefited society: new medical techniques from virus hunters, restoration of historical landmarks by archeological hunters, and better public safety thanks to terrorist hunters. However, this all also attracted people of a darker inclination.

All it took was a license to earn the right to punish those they feared.

To kill those they hate.

Trials as the judge, jury, and executioner.

Not a murderer.

Power made good men go bad, and bad ones even worse.

With that in mind, the Hunter's Association was self-policing. Under article four: Hunters may not hunt their fellow Hunters, except for those who have committed atrocities. Those that committed heinous crimes, hunter or not, were added to the Black List. From there they were free game as bounty targets to anyone capable of capturing them. There was no formal obligation for anyone to punish evil doers, but the system worked. Black List, Terrorist, Crime, and Hacker hunters came into being as professions for those interested in preventing criminal elements from operating openly.

When she was granted a position in the Zodiac, she had asked Netero what he thought of it all.

Netero had scratched his nose and said, " _I suppose someone has to run the website_."

The former chairman had run the Hunter Association the same way he ran his martial arts school, Shingen-Ryu, from the heart. New obstacles that amused him were his priority and it showed. He gave Pariston, who wanted to undermine him, the 2nd highest position of power within the organization and constantly gave impossible tasks to his fellow hunters. Always challenging himself and others to continue to grow, Netero was a true martial artist and a great man.

She's had growled when Ging suggested she couldn't continue on his will. But the tightening of her chest when she remembered the conversation said more than words ever could, she could not run the association in the same way. No matter how much she admired the former chairman, Cheadle led with her mind and not her heart.

The madam chairman considered herself part of the Maintenance faction. A more moderate group, the Maintenance faction sought to preserve the status quo within the association. Among the Zodiacs Mizaistom - the ox, Ginta - the sheep, and Botobai - the dragon shared her political views. Those who did not hold the same beliefs as her were split between two groups: the Reformation Hardliners and the Liberal Non-Political factions.

The Reformation Hardliners faction pushed for changes in the commandments to ensure more oversite and accountability for any hunter's actions. Additionally, they wanted a safer hunter exam. This group was composed of Pyon - the rabbit, Cluck - the rooster, and Saiyu - the monkey.

The Liberal Non-Political faction was Kanzai - the tiger, Saccho - the horse, and Gel - the snake. The goal of this group was to reduce the involvement of the Hunter Association in personal affairs. Unless there was a demand from a higher power, such as the V5 governments requesting aid, the Hunter Association had no business involving itself.

Ging and Pariston had been swing votes, switching sides at their own whim. Currently, it was unknown which factions Kurapika and Leorio would join. The sooner she found out the better as adding them into the fold could shift the balance of power among her advisors. She was hopeful that both could be swayed into the Maintenance faction in order to consolidate her hold on the Association. A united front would be necessary to counteract Pariston's plans.

Pariston, the inhuman mixture of death and body glitter, had made his intentions clear. If he didn't like how she ran the organization, he'd come to destroy them all. This was inevitable, they both knew he'd get bored.

Because she wasn't Netero.

Pariston still wanted to play with him, say silly things and attempt an assassination every once in awhile, but that was over. He loved the association; he always destroyed that which he loved.

Netero was dead.

Now Pariston was going to do his best to see that they all join him.

Her life was a book still being written and she wasn't about to let him shut it. No way in hell.

In every story she had read, there was a general philosophy in regards to life: people went through hell, but gained something for it. Determination and steadfastness in the face of overwhelming hopelessness was a part of being a hunter. People cry. Break. Lose hope. Despair. But after all that, they get back up again and keep pushing onward, because that's who hunters are and that's what they do.

Staring the Zodiacs and herself in the face was months of hell in the most dangerous place known to man. That fact brought a smile to her face Netero would have been proud of.

There was a happy ending waiting at the end of all this, and she'd be damned if she let anyone take it away.

Humanity could not give into the idea that there was no good that could come from any of this. Giving up was the only way to ensure the worst. For a long time, her entire world had been her books. That world had been small. It was always easy to give up and hide somewhere familiar, small, and safe. But it was both the will of the former chairman and her own that the Hunter Association pressed on and opened the door to a whole new world. They could not give up hope that whatever darkness laid beyond the known world was worth braving. Because if humanity stayed in it's safe little world it would be dooming itself to stagnation.

Adventure was just another word for growth because things never went as planned.

Pushing open the door to the 2nd deck's clinic she entered. Feet set wide to take up the doorway, she was going to give Kurapika the lecture of a lifetime.

Prince Woble cooed from within her mother Oito's arms.

The words died on Cheadle's lips. It was a good thing she was a doctor because it was the most severe case of CKS, cute kid syndrome, she'd ever seen. The movement from Oito readjusting Woble in her arms snapped Cheadle out of her stupor. Indulging in one last peek at Woble, her eyes slide over the rest of the clinic.

Sitting on the edge of a desk counter was Kurapika. A nurse with Nen thread in her hands was stitching his leg wounds, but there was little she could do with most of the skin having been peeled off.

Across the room was a doctor. Dark hair and dark eyes, he was fairly non-descript if one could ignore his short height. His eyes focused on the nurse's needle as it poked and weaved through the torn flesh.

Cheadle nearly bit a hole in her tongue at the lack of protocol.

The medical staff here was not up to her standards. Not in the slightest.

They'd gotten blood and debris all over the previously sterile room. How Kakin could find them qualified for medical service, let alone on a mission that required the most skilled people possible for any chance of success, was a mystery to her. "Honestly, is this what passes for treatment in Kakin? Move over."

The nurse's hand stilled. "And you are?"

"Your boss for the next two months."

"Look, lady, I only have one boss and you aren't him."

Kurapika tipped his head to the side, a faint amount of amusement in his expression. "Machi, it's fine."

Machi opened her mouth, and Kurapika held up a hand - don't.

Cheeks turned slightly red, Machi shook her head with resigned annoyance. Heaving a sigh as she moved away from Kurapika's leg to stand by his side.

With the ease of years of practice, Cheadle took over Machi's spot. She was staring at them, trying not to think about the situation, trying to make her brain shut up, but her brain had never been particularly good at being silent. The cranky, workaholic was more of a charmer than she'd thought. Now she'd have to add fraternization into her lecture on his behavior. Great, she'd spent over a decade devoted to improving the medical knowledge of humanity and earned the highest seat in the Hunter Association all to yell at a teenage boy about keeping it in his pants.

A chuckled broke her out of her thoughts.

"Is it that bad? Your growling at my leg."

"I've seen worse. It looks like you've already been cleaned up. Let me know if you feel any shooting or stinging, I don't want to regrow the flesh over debris still in the wound."

Emission and enhancement weren't her strong suit as a conjurer, but years of experience and training were on her side. First, she used Shu an advanced application of Ten that allowed the user to extend their aura's envelopment onto another object as if it were an extension of their own body. The connection created she began to enhance his body's rate of healing. Concentrating her aura into his leg with Ko, the skin regrew rapidly.

"How useful, is this your ability?" asked Kurapika, his voice calm and even.

Cheadle ignored the look of fascination on his face as she healed his wounds. While the Zodiacs had shared information on how their abilities worked as part the plan by Mizaistrom, Kurapika, and herself to find the mole, Kurapika and Leorio had been excluded from the meeting. Only Mizaistrom had seen the ability Kurapika used to scan candidates. As a bounty hunter, it was unlikely he had any Hatsu directly related to medical care instead he'd focus on restraining his targets. Without any training in emission, she doubted even if he did if he'd be able to extend aura away from himself enough to heal another person.

Getting him a decent teacher was added to the to-do list. The Zodiac was the face of the association, it wouldn't do to have him undertrained and overconfidently relying on talent. "Clearly you didn't pay enough attention to the meeting. My ability is to conjure various medical service dogs to detect diseases. This was just a simple procedure."

Very simple. It was surprising Machi knew Nen, but hadn't performed it herself. Within the association, it was one of the first things taught to the medical staff. Nen stitches was also an odd treatment choice given the injury was not a severed limb or a gaping wound. From the look of his leg, it was as if the skin had been scraped off rather than having been cut into. Thinking about it, the doctor should have been able to perform the treatment as well. His aura was restrained, but controlled. Was he trying to hide that he was a Nen user? There was little point in doing so, she was already aware Kakin had hoarded the best of the staffing for the upper decks.

Something wasn't right.

The nurse was not a nurse, the doctor was not a doctor, and most likely the man before her was not Kurapika.

Her doglike nose twitched. Upon her elevation into the Zodiacs, she'd been one of the members who underwent plastic surgery in honor of chairman Netero. While the Nen users were skilled enough to give her face a more dog-like appearance by modifying her nose and jaw, they could not create scent glands. Despite appearances, her sense of smell was only that of an average human, perhaps slightly worse than average due to having everything reshaped. She could not verify his identity via scent.

She used Gyo.

There was a moment of stillness.

When she spoke, the words were very soft, and very cold. "If anything happened to him," she said, "I will hold you fully responsible." She looked at Chrollo, and there was something dark and frightening there in her eyes. She was the 14th chairman. The hunters were her's to protect and if he wanted to mess with them he'd find her to be less of a dog and more of a wolf.

A threaded needle appeared in Machi's hand and the "doctor" grabbed an umbrella from behind a desk.

Sliding off the desk, Chrollo replied, "Physically he's unharmed. As you can see the technique I'm using is nothing more than a glamour charm."

"And you are?"

"I'm the boss."

"Well, that makes two of us. I'm the chairman of the Hunter Association."

"Touché. Seems the association's boss lady has a bit of bite in her bark." With every outer appearance of calm, he smiled. "You'll have to excuse me. We're not big on following politics, would you care to enlighten me as to why you're interested in the chain user?"

Cheadle's brows furrowed thoughtfully, chain user, by context that could only be one person. "Kurapika is the Rat Zodiac. The Zodiacs function as the advisor's to the chairman of the Hunter Association with the VP serving as the interim leader in the case anything should happen to the chairman." This was public knowledge.

She was the head of the Hunter Association and beneath her, the Zodiacs were the twelve pillars the organization stood upon.

He was the head of the Phantom Troupe and beneath him, the members were the twelve legs the spider stood upon.

Lips curling into a smug smile the "doctor" spoke. "You're the leader and your own advisor." He snorted. "Inefficient."

"The expedition came too quickly for me to appoint a VP, once it is completed I'll tenure my resignation and appoint a new Dog."

Rolling down what remained of his pant leg, Chrollo skimmed a hand over the healed skin. "A multi-international operation like this would take priority."

"Of course it does, think of all the good that can come of this!"

"Oh, do tell."

"There are four known resources of interest that were found by previous expeditions, but were failed to be recovered. Ghost Stone - a mineral that generates 20,000 kilowatts of electricity a day when submerged in water, Nitro Grain - the ultimate longevity food, A herb that can cure 10,000 known illnesses and, The Three Primary Liquids. That's only what we've found so far. However, the continent is incredibly dangerous." Cheadle bit her lip. This would either go really well or really badly. "Nen users aren't common and we need every available person of talent we can find. As long as you have no intention to harm my people I'd like for you to consider joining our expedition."

"The invitation is nice, however," Chrollo paused and after a moment of thought he said, "Small acts of kindness do not make up for great acts of evil."

"Evil?"

Face calm, cold, uncaring, and blank, Machi scoffed. "You're not from Meteor City, we don't expect you to understand. We don't do partnerships."

The doctor nodded in agreement. "We're thieves; we steal."

"Just to be clear if you steal from this expedition you're not robbing me, your robbing humanity."

Machi shrugged. "It's a dog eat dog world."

"Stupid," said the "doctor." He continued, "Dogs don't eat dogs. Dogs eat rats. Rat kibble if they have an owner."

Sighing Machi rolled her eyes. "Feitan, your so short I shouldn't be surprised that went over your head."

Meteor City - a land the V5, the Hunter Association, and the rest of humanity had abandoned. Ten million people dumped into the garbage can. The only assistance the residence received from the outside world was from the mafia, in return for using the city as a recruitment hub - a subsidized breeding ground for future criminals. Beyond this trade, the city didn't exist to the outside world. It was a festering sore filled with the mistakes of the rich from clothes that were last year's fashion to newborn children.

Within the decrepit city most died. The layers of garbage served as the soil of their graves. Strength and luck, however, allowed some to survive. In the dark alleyways, these survivors fought tooth and nail each day against the vermin, against each other, and against the fate they were abandoned too. Meteor City didn't taught only life or death. Trust came slowly, but once earned through struggle and blood it was as solid as iron. They had no family, but stayed bound together by the mutual price they all paid for survival.

Without so much as a tear, the world turned its back on Meteor City and so the residence returned the favor in kind. If the world that grew on their suffering burned they would not mourn its loss. The citizens united in that one aspect, it was them against the world and they were never letting go of what they little they had. "We reject no one, so take nothing from us."

There was a horrible hypocrisy in exploring the new world for ways to help humanity while the citizens of Meteor City rotted away back home.

The Hunter's Association operated under the interest of the governments that called on them for aid and various clients that filed for assistance from them. Many of these sources being corrupt themselves or simply self-interested in their requests, naturally there was nothing of interest in Meteor City as far as the association was concerned.

However, there was a concern over a group that had come out of Meteor City. They were A-ranked criminals on the Black List, the Phantom Troupe - a symptom, not the disease.

But Cheadle would still administer treatment. "I'll stop you right here."

Grinning as he touched his book to his chin, Chrollo gave a low, thoughtful _hum_. "You can try, but we won't die easily. After all, trash breeds cockroaches."

Focusing on the area beside her, Cheadle created one of her Nen constructs. Soft fur brushed against her leg, as Service Dog, went into effect.

Snarling the conjured animal leaped at Machi.

Bullets shot from the umbrella dispelling the animal.

A long range fighter.

Dashing towards Feitan, Cheadle moved to close the distance. If he was an Emitter, he would have a higher efficiency in enhancement than a conjurer, such as herself. However, his Hatsu would be focused on throwing his aura away from his body leaving him unlikely to be use to close combat.

"Don't trust appearances, fool," said Feitan as he clicked the release button. Sword unsheathed, he slashed.

She was forced to retreat backward, her back to the door and the non-combatants, Oito and Woble.

Cheadle glanced back over her shoulder to Oito and Woble. She bit off each word with a harsh force. "Get out of here! Don't you know who these people are?"

Turning back towards her targets she gritted her teeth.

Three on one was nasty odds.

Weaving she dodged Machi's needles. With a solid _thunk_ they embedded into the wall behind her leaving long strands of razor sharp wire between the wall and Machi.

Cheadle's sideways movement was limited. She needed to cut down their number advantage and fast, but who to strike first...

There was a sharp pain from her side, so she grabbed it. It throbbed. More alarming, however, her vision blurred. Looking down at her side she saw her hand was covered in blood. Just a scratch, but she felt like she could bearly breath.

She could hear Oito's voice. Quite, soft, and terrible. "I know. But as long as my daughter lives I've made the right choice."

Everything seemed to slow down except for the sound of her heartbeat.

It was quick.

Chrollo pointed behind her to Oito's hand. "That Ben's knife is imbued with a toxin so powerful that 0.1 mg of it could paralyze a whale. If you don't have some type of resistance to poison, well, I probably don't need to explain overdoses to a doctor."

Normally to damage a Nen user, one had to break through the protective layer of aura - Ten or Kyo if it was an advanced nen user capable of using Ren to increase their defensive aura. This would be achieved by focusing a higher percentage of the attacker's aura into the attack - Ko. Because Oito was not a Nen user, Cheadle had no expected the attack and shifted her protection towards the Spiders. However, Ben's knives owed much of their abnormal sharpness to the fact they retained the aura of their forger even a century after his death.

Grabbing onto her arm, Chrollo placed her limp hand onto the cover of his book. "We usually check the corpse's to make sure someone's dead, but that method has now proved unreliable."

Cheadle's lips trembled, but no words came out.

Eyes focused on making out her plea, he chuckled before continuing, "In the same way every palm print is unique so is every ability that derives from the personality of its creator. Think of this as a fingerprint scan for your soul. By "scanning" your hand people I gain the key to unlock the vault of your soul, so to speak. Thus allowing me to steal your Hatsu. I lose access upon death. Without Nen there will be no returning from death and this way I will know instantly when you've breathed your last breath."

With or without her the voyage had already begun and the Black Whale would sail on. If she lived he got her abilities and if she died she was out of his way.

Prone on the floor Cheadle heard Chrollo's voice from the doorway.

"You have to be alive for me to keep your abilities, so try not to die."

* * *

Sorry for the wait, I was going to post this yesterday as a birthday present to myself. But then I ended up spending the day relaxing instead. One more chapter then we're back to Kurapika!


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